An Introduction: TOK

(written on May 15, 2020)

There are a plethora of books around the world which try to propound their respective concepts of knowledge, but none have succeeded in giving an overarching, complete description of knowledge. The meaning of life, reality, existence, knowledge, perception, these are all extremely important concepts that are vital to understand. Modern philosophers have tried to fill this gap of knowledge through their concepts of philosophy but they are all but complete.

This book explains the concept of real knowledge and philosophy, as explained and asserted by the Vedic acharyas who quote from Vedic scriptures which are the oldest and the purest sources of knowledge. Before we delve into the authenticity of the Vedas, it is important to understand how people of this world are imperfect by design, and therefore the knowledge propounded by humans in this world is also imperfect.

The knowledge within this world has many defects because people within this world are conditioned. This means that they are prone to the four defects which comprise all living entities. These are: to commit mistakes, to be illusioned, to have a cheating propensity, and to have imperfect senses.

Having imperfect senses:

Everybody has imperfect senses. We all do not have perfect eyes, perfect ears, etc. What we see and perceive is very limited. Scientists themselves have noted that as humans we can only perceive visible light which is only a very minimal portion of the wave spectrum. Overall, this proves that it is impossible to pertain knowledge through the senses.

Being illusioned:

To be illusioned means to accept something which is not true. Sometimes we blindly accept things or mistake something to be something else. The example of a snake and rope are much used in this context. One might spot a rope far away and think that it is a snake and begin to fear for their safety. However, upon coming closer, we realize that this snake is actually a rope. This is the effect of being illusioned.

Making mistakes:

Everybody in this world makes mistakes. Let’s face it, whether you are a highschool dropout or an Albert Einstein, you have made mistakes. Sir James Dyson, the man who created the famous bagless vacuum cleaner failed approximately 5000 times before he came up with a working vacuum cleaner. No matter how smart, you will fail and make mistakes at times. These qualities are innate. There is the famous saying “to err is human.”

Having a cheating propensity:

Each person has a unique ideology that they have developed through their upbringings and experiences. Naturally, they believe that they have the best ideas or have the correct understanding. Most people who try to write books almost always have personal beliefs and ideologies which they try to advocate. As a result of this, people use selective evidence to only use supporting evidence in their writings. Due to the use of selective evidence, people are cheating their audiences.

The four defects above portray that scientists and philosophers are not able to create an all encompassing theory of knowledge. Philosophers disagree about the meaning of life, and material scientists are constantly disagreeing on the mechanism of this universe. For example, until recently, it was widely accepted that Newton’s Law of Gravity applied to all aspects in this universe. However, the discovery of the quantum realm has upended Newton’s “universal” law. This example proves that the materialistic approach of knowledge is incomplete, defective, illusory, and most importantly is constantly changing. What might be true in the textbooks now, could be changed and proven wrong after more study and research.

After contemplating and arguing for many years, they came up with the definition, the tripartite theory of knowledge, that knowledge is a justified true belief. However, this itself is not verified. Some philosophers called skeptics believe that knowledge can never be attained. They have yet again fallen into the inevitable loophole of disagreement and misunderstanding that is an effect of being subject to the four defects.

We should get this straight: although it may appear as if the modern world is in control and at the peak, there are many things that we are ignorant about. For example, in medical science, only 15% of all known diseases have a cure, 45% of the diseases are chronic diseases which are being medically facilitated, and the rest of the 40% do not even have a cure. Due to the modern lifestyle, we get more diseases and we have no control over the situations. For example, the U.S. medical systems experienced their worst during this coronavirus pandemic because they were absolutely unprepared for such conditions. The coronavirus pandemic has caused a terrible mental health issue for many of those who are unable to cope with grief and feelings of disconnect. The fact that we are unable to solve such a problem and adapt to the situation shows how we are not having the correct knowledge.

So, after discussing all these issues, you must be wondering, how can I actually understand knowledge? The process of understanding knowledge comes after understanding what IS knowledge. From what has been discussed, we can deduct that knowledge must be:

• Free from the four defects

• Coming from a source that is perfect

• Eternal

• Always true

This knowledge is perfectly explained in the Vedas, the purest form of spiritual and material knowledge. The Vedas explain knowledge as a science, rather than a theory; they have a clear definition of what knowledge is, they explain the different levels of knowledge, and also the process to attain knowledge. No other source has given such a clear cut definition that saves one from the pain of having to figure it out themselves.

The Vedas are a compilation of the knowledge by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Earlier we have described how perfect knowledge needs to come from a perfect source. Who is a more perfect source than God? The Vedas are therefore authentic and are worth studying. In BG 7.2, the Lord elucidates the all-encompassing definition of knowledge to Arjuna, his dear devotee, by saying “I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and numinous. This being known, nothing further shall remain for you to know.” Here the Lord is clearly sharing the nature of knowledge:

• There is material (phenomenal) knowledge

• There is spiritual (numinous) knowledge

• There is the Lord who is the source of all such knowledge

In the following chapter of this book one will be able to understand the nature of knowledge in greater depth.